V.P. Ferguson was, to say the least, an unconventional student.
He arrived at the University of Mississippi from Columbus in the early 1950's and became a legend in his own time. He was especially renowned for a touch of irreverence. He was said to have hung a copy of Sallman's Head of Christ on the wall in his dormitory room, but replaced the eyes with a doll's glass eyes that were wired to follow a visitor as he moved about the room.
A talented musician, V.P. organized a dance band, whose jazz repertoire included a version of "The Little Brown Church" and other jazzed up hymns, arousing disapproval in some circles.
One year, V.P. was upset that the University increased dormitory rent. He refused to pay the rent, instead pitching a tent nearby. One morning, he arose just before official sunrise and put his trumpet to his lips. Just as the sun peeked above the horizon, he played a rousing fanfare, and announced to the gathered audience: "and now, courtesy of V.P. Ferguson, I present - the Sun!"
I just learned that V.P. Ferguson passed away last year in Paris, where he had lived on the Left Bank for many years as a science fiction writer.
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V.P. was my maternal great-uncle. I knew him only from stories from my mother and my paternal grandfather, William N. Ethridge, II, who lived in Oxford many years and served as the attorney for Ole Miss and the City of Oxford. Now 63, I lived in Oxford (where my father then taught at the Ole Miss law school)until about 3-and-1/2 years. My grandfather used to sit in the Oxford town square and shoot the breeze with William Faulkner, occasionally with me sitting on Faulkner's lap. I would occasionally hear about "Uncle V.P." riding his bike -- when grown men diod not ride bikes -- and telling hilarious stories with Faulkner. Even as a child, Uncle V.P. was known as a beatnik. Nothing dull in Mississippi!
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